Kaitlyn's heart beat a little faster as she stared at the screen. A windowed version of Ian's game played across it, the polygonal background populated with low-res blobs that moved and attacked. Ian tapped away at the keyboard, sending the main character through a complicated series of dodges and strikes to take down the enemies.
There we...
2024-05-24 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post///It's been a looooong time. Whoda thought we'd take this long?
So yeah, between Alone, Armageddon, publishing, and personal life, Legion fell behind a little bit. Sorry about that! I should hopefully be able to start posting it more regularly coming up soon. It won't be too frequent, maybe once a week if we're lucky, but it will be happe...
2024-05-22 02:23:30 +0000 UTC View PostThe sound of Kaitlyn's footsteps echoed through the dorm stairwell as she climbed. Her legs were still sore from the morning's run, sending twinges of pain through her calves and thighs with every step.
It's only one floor. I don't need to use the elevator for something like this. I'm not that lazy.
Today was a big day. It w...
2024-05-20 16:39:39 +0000 UTC View PostThe lecture hall buzzed with activity and conversation. A steady stream of students poured in through each entrance, branching off into tributaries as they broke off to find seats among the already-crowded aisles. There were still three minutes to go until the Intro to Programming lecture began, and yet the hall was already packed.
Gee...
2024-05-17 16:00:16 +0000 UTC View PostThe drone of conversation and music filled Kaitlyn's ears as she stepped into the crowded atmosphere of Cappy's. Since so many people were still moving in, the cafeteria wasn't nearly as crowded as it could get. Still, at this hour, the mass of students was dense enough to fill up every table in the building.
All according to ...
2024-05-13 16:00:00 +0000 UTC View PostThe rest of the loop passed by in a blur of reflection, sore muscles, and activity. Now that Kaitlyn had a better lead on what had gone wrong last time, she had to adjust her approach to compensate. It wasn't an easy task, though. Without more information, the best she could do was make a rough draft and keep an open mindset going forward.
Kaitlyn came away from the tournament with a skip in her step. For the first time ever, she'd managed the impossible: she'd actually won the whole thing.
I did it! Finally! After all this time, I finally, finally won!
The achievement felt like a real milestone to her. It was no Bara Bash, and it was against the most...
2024-05-06 16:30:11 +0000 UTC View PostOver the next few weeks, Kaitlyn went through the practically automatic motions of establishing her early-loop routine. Kate's Kitchen, Chella's, and Professor Adams's lab all slotted themselves back into her daily schedule, with music practice filling in some of the empty space. It kept her busy enough that the loop still felt like for...
2024-05-04 16:45:00 +0000 UTC View PostKaitlyn could do little more than stare, completely thunderstruck. The orange-yellow sky still hung in the background, the last traces of blue slowly disappearing as the sun continued its slow descent. A chill breeze blew past, ruffling her hair lightly. But all of those were secondary details compared to the main one—Ian was still sitting the...
2024-05-04 16:36:55 +0000 UTC View PostA few rounds of friendlies did help her mental state a bit. For a little while, Kaitlyn managed to lose herself in the combos and graceful movement she'd been honing even further in the past couple of weeks. By this point in the loop, she was well-known enough as a player that she felt comfortable sitting down with practically anyone. Even if sh...
2024-04-26 16:00:14 +0000 UTC View PostWith a long sigh, Kaitlyn plopped into one of the audience seats. At this point, they had filled up pretty significantly—a detail she'd been happily oblivious to during the match.
It makes sense. We're finally in grand finals, after all. But that does explain why they sounded a little louder when I was playing Ian…
She w...
2024-04-26 03:55:53 +0000 UTC View PostKaitlyn came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, hoping to catch her opponent off guard. Two Corgos faced each other down—her own in red and Zog's in blue. The pair hopped around the screen like caffeinated Australian shepherds, flinging out lasers and punches and kicks every which way.
Her plan was simple. She didn't need to waste ...
2024-04-22 04:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post/// Ok wow. I'm so sorry for the late posts yall -- life's been hectic! I should be getting back on track soon, fingers crossed, but it might be one or two more weeks of spottiness before I do. Here's hoping no more than that. I think I'm starting to figure it out though!
Thanks so much for being patient with me as I figure things out -- y...
2024-04-22 04:07:53 +0000 UTC View PostThe second game didn't end up quite so well, with their opponents finding a weakness in Kaitlyn's slightly more defensive plays and taking her out early. She didn't lose hope, though. It was too much to expect a quick 2-0 against a team like this. Still, with their lead gone, the third game felt even more tense.
Bit by bit, each player bat...
2024-04-12 16:00:13 +0000 UTC View Post"Last round of friendlies! Bash Bros doubles is starting in five!"
Ian and Kaitlyn were already sitting at a setup when John's call sounded over the speakers. They'd long since finished exploring the rest of the venue and its various offerings and had claimed a PlaySphere of their own to warm up. Around them, a dense crow...
2024-04-10 02:53:21 +0000 UTC View PostThe weeks passed in a comfortable routine of study, work, and tournaments. On top of Ian's own successes with midterms, Esme also had reported some pretty impressive results of her own. As a result, both Kaitlyn and Elliot were rounded up more than a few times as her favorite repeat study partners.
Of course, Ian still took priority. As ti...
2024-04-05 16:00:08 +0000 UTC View PostCappy's Cafeteria buzzed with the steady din of conversation, clattering dishes, and ambient pop music. A sparse crowd filled the area, slowly growing in size as late risers stumbled out of bed in search of food. The sights and sounds served as little more than a backdrop as Kaitlyn ate her breakfast – a plate of chili-oil fried eggs....
2024-04-02 00:16:10 +0000 UTC View PostKaitlyn learned a few things over the course of their study session. The first was that, as bad as her own Genetics class had been, she certainly didn't have the worst professor available. The second was that she'd internalized the material a lot better than expected.
Wollywocks are a triploid organism that reproduce ...
2024-03-29 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post/// Apologies for the late update! I'm still figuring out the work-life balance thing. This week should be a bit better, hopefully. It's def gonna be a 2 chapter week, especially since I gotta grind out vol 1 edits for publication. But I'll see if I can petition my muse to help me bang out a third for next week.
Either way, enjoy!
//...
2024-03-26 02:45:13 +0000 UTC View Post"Kate, you've gotta stop making these things."
Heather lounged on her roundish pink chair with her eyes closed. One hand rested on her stomach contentedly while the other draped over its edge. Kaitlyn stopped what she was doing and stared, her brow furrowing with concern. "Why? You don't think they'll sell?"
"No, they won't....
2024-03-22 16:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post"It's such a nice day out!"
Esme set her tray on the table before her, a noodle bowl perched atop it. To her left side sat Elliot with his standard plate of comparatively plain buttered noodles, though today he'd evidently gotten a little adventurous. At least, Kaitlyn assumed that was the reason for the garlic bread on the side.
/// Apologies for the late update! I'm still figuring out the work-life balance thing. This week should be a bit better, hopefully. It's def gonna be a 2 chapter week, especially since I gotta grind out vol 1 edits for publication. But I'll see if I can petition my muse to help me bang out a third for next week.
Either way, enjoy!
//...
2024-03-18 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostThe Intro to Programming class was like Chemistry in that it took place in a massive, crowded lecture hall. It was unlike Chemistry, however, in that it actually seemed to care about introducing its students to the subject rather than knocking them unconscious with a textbook to the skull.
Kaitlyn looked around the lecture hall. A sea of s...
2024-03-15 16:00:09 +0000 UTC View PostJohn sat at the head of the long wooden table. Along its length sat an assortment of federal officials, cabinet members, and military officers, each and every one tense and unmoving. None of them spoke a word as they watched the screen on the opposite wall with a mixture of fear and anticipation.
The room was too warm, stuffy from the shee...
2024-03-13 22:00:04 +0000 UTC View PostHello hello! It's been a bit, how yall doing! I'm great now that spring has come and things have warmed up. We've even got flowers blooming, which is BALLER.
Anyway, I've got some updates for yall!
Life Updates
It's time -- it's finally time. I got a new job!
After writing full time for a bit, ...
2024-03-13 19:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post/// NOTE ABOUT THE PROGRESS REPORT
You're gonna notice that there's suddenly 18 total endings listed instead of 20! I decided to cut out the extra two for... reasons! Not that you won't see them, of course (or one of them at least) -- it's more that I think they make more sense as achievements than full on endings. It's a really minor thin...
2024-03-13 16:00:12 +0000 UTC View Post/// NEW STORY ALERT WEE WOO WEE WOO
This is a collaboration story with Zaifyr, author of All the Dust that Falls! It's silly. I hope you enjoy it. We're hoping to post once a week until we got enough backlog to launch on Royal Road. At that point, this story might get its own tiers and whatnot. But until then, future chapters will all go u...
2024-03-13 04:32:17 +0000 UTC View PostA shimmering barrier appeared in front of Chad's face, deflecting the flames off to the side. A quick glance over revealed one of the soldiers standing with arms outstretched and sweat beading on his brow.
Wait. Have they always been able to do that?!
He hadn't particularly paid attention to the skills of the soldiers. He'd ...
2024-03-13 02:57:49 +0000 UTC View PostThe pair were met with a wall of noise as they stepped into the Bara Ballroom. Once again, it had been reorganized to make way for countless booths and stands associated with Bara Bash's central theme – gaming. The chattering of voices, tinny chiptune music, and occasional announcement over the speakers merged together into a hazy din that per...
2024-03-11 17:56:24 +0000 UTC View PostThis was a really fucking stupid idea.
The wind whistled past Chad's face as he dove toward the falling helicopter. He heard the faint sound of someone screaming brom behind him, but it was hard to be sure among all of the other battlefield noise. Either way, he couldn't focus on it right now. He was busy.
His dive took him ...
2024-03-11 03:28:40 +0000 UTC View Post